The bold grooves and high-contrast arrangements of Thao & the Get Down Stay Down are captained by the distinctive, raspy sing-speak of Thao Nguyen, a songwriter who tends toward the musically playful and lyrically heavy-hearted. Since debuting the project with We Brave Bee Stings in 2008, Thao and band have collaborated with such esteemed indie producers as Tucker Martine, John Congleton, and Merrill Garbus. The group's fifth album, 2020's Temple, was their first to be produced in-house, by Nguyen and core member Adam Thompson. ~ Marcy Donelson